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VeriSign Announces New Service To Protect Against Online Identity Theft

14 February, 2006 09:16

<p>VeriSign, Inc., (NASDAQ: VRSN), the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services for Internet and telecommunications networks, today announced the VeriSign Fraud Detection Service, a new solution that forms part of VeriSign’s overall layered authentication solution targeted at preventing online identity theft.</p><p>In support of this new service, VeriSign has also reached a definitive agreement to acquire Snapcentric, Inc, a provider of online fraud detection solutions using advanced anomaly detection technology. The newly acquired technology will be a key addition to VeriSign’s suite of authentication solutions, providing an invisible layer of protection against online fraud.</p><p>Consumer banks and other financial institutions are struggling to comply with recent FFIEC guidelines, which state that user names and passwords are no longer sufficient for high-risk transactions. The VeriSign Fraud Detection Service will complement VeriSign’s existing authentication offerings to help banks achieve FFIEC compliance by authenticating consumers based on behavioral patterns.</p><p>The VeriSign Fraud Detection Service will take a self-learning approach to fraud detection, adapting to customer usage habits unique to that individual. Using pattern recognition technology, it flags potentially fraudulent activities based on known types of fraud and behaviors not associated with the user. Because the service is self-learning, it can adapt to changing criminal behavior without manual intervention. VeriSign believes that this unique capability differentiates the Snapcentric technology from all competitive solutions in the marketplace.</p><p>The invisible layer of protection afforded by the VeriSign Fraud Detection Service lets financial institutions authenticate users for low risk transactions without changing the online experience. For high risk transactions, the VeriSign Unified Authentication Service provides a wide range of two-factor authentication devices to verify a user’s identity. In combination, these services provide a comprehensive approach to address online banking and e-commerce authentication needs.</p><p>A July 2005 report issued by Gartner, Inc titled: “Criminals Exploit Consumer Bank Accounts and ATM System Weaknesses” found that an estimated 1.9 million online adults were victims of illegal checking account transfers, resulting in nearly $3.5 billion in losses or an average of just a little more than $1,800 per incident, with banks absorbing most of these losses.</p><p>“Financial institutions of all sizes are looking for easy-to-deploy solutions that help them achieve compliance with FFIEC without further taxing their IT resources or staff,” said Nico Popp, vice president, Authentication Services, VeriSign. “The introduction of the VeriSign Fraud Detection Service is a strategic move that provides VeriSign with advanced technology to help these institutions achieve compliance in a cost effective and non-intrusive way.”</p><p>The VeriSign Fraud Detection Service is available for immediate Beta testing, with general availability expected within the next 60 days.The acquisition of Snapcentric is being accounted for as a purchase transaction and is valued at $12 million. Revenue and earnings contributions from the acquisition will not be material to VeriSign’s 2006 financial results. All of Snapcentric’s employees in the United States and Israel will become part of VeriSign Security Services. The transaction is expected to close later this quarter.</p><p>About VeriSign</p><p>VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), operates intelligent infrastructure services that enable and protect billions of interactions every day across the world’s voice and data networks. Additional news and information about the company is available at www.verisign.com.au</p>

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